A New Beginning
by Scrapps
Summary: Julie hates her life. Can a letter that doesn't even make sense possibly change her life?
1. A New Beginning

Julia Chang Foster hated her life. Everything about it sucked—school, work, and her small home outside the skirts of Canterbury, England. Everyday, when she looked in the mirror, she saw the same Asian face with thick, long black hair, a warm smile (which rarely appeared) and dark brown eyes that wished somehow things would get better. She longed to be someone else, and everyday she wished her life would just somehow end. Julie wasn't suicidal—she wasn't brave enough to actually kill herself. Bravery. That was the one thing she didn't have, and was certain she would never have. Her father was an alcoholic who didn't care the least bit of what happened to Julie, and her loving mother, Mrs. Foster. Mrs. Foster was a beautiful Asian woman who was almost identical to Julie, physically and characteristically. She married Mr. Foster, a man who used to be so caring, so sweet. But when he lost his job, he began drinking and everything unfolded from there. He would stay at home, ordering things they could not afford to buy, and constantly buying vodka and having it delivered to their door. Nobody told her, but Julie knew they were going broke.

Gradually, Mrs. Foster became thinner and thinner, and paler and paler. The smile that always made Julie feel better after her father had gone out in a rage, now disappeared. It was replaced with a frown that pained Julie to look at. One day, on a fine June day, she came home from shopping and found her mother, down on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mum, what's wrong?" Julie asked worriedly. Her mom looked up at her, her beautiful brown eyes identical to Julie's, shining with tears. " He's gone."

Julie was so shocked, she didn't move. Her father, gone? She didn't understand. But he had to be. She didn't hear the usual breaking of glass, or the slurring of words that didn't make sense. Soon, she joined her mother in the crying.

In 2 hours time, they stopped crying, but were now hugging each other, too afraid to let go. Mrs. Foster was all that Julie was left with, and now Julie knew that her responsibilities had just tripled. She had to lead her life, _and_ take care of her mother. She would do it. She would work even harder in school, clean the house, and make sure her mother was alright. She knew it would take a lot of bravery from her part, but she would do it. But then something struck her. Her mother could not support them with her crummy job as a waitress. They would go broke, and become homeless. She cried even harder. But then she saw a letter on the table. It was thick, and had a fancy crest, which was an "H" with 4 different animals wrapping themselves around it: a badger, a snake, a raven, and a lion. It was addressed to Julia Chang Foster, 1 River Road, Canterbury, England. Trembling, she stood up, and opened the letter. She read it, and when she was done. Was about to throw it out, but first, she decided, she should show it to her mother. Her mother looked at it and read deep and thoroughly. She sat down, and started to ponder. The letter said she was invited to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic that was used in a magical world made up of wizards and witches. But it was a joke. Some bully from school probably sent it to her, expecting her to get a kick out of it.

"So do you want to go?" her mother asked. "Mom, this isn't even real. What are you talking about?" she asked bewildered. How could her mom, such a smart woman, believe in such crap? "No, Julie. This is real. I don't know much about it, but I once saw a strange man in the street, dressed in these type of long purple robes. He had a long, crooked nose, a long beard, half moon glasses, and had a sort of pointy hat. He told me that I would receive a letter for my daughter very soon, inviting her to go somewhere that sounded very fake, but that I should believe it, because I would benefit from it. He didn't say a word more, and when I looked for him, he had somehow disappeared."

Julie didn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother passed her the letter, and she looked at it once more. On the other page of the letter, was an explanation of what they called, "What you should know about the Wizarding World." She quickly read through it, and at the bottom, was an estimate of how much "muggle" money was worth in they're currency which appeared to be "Galleons." She flipped back to the acceptation page, and saw the cost. It was _way_ too much for them. They would never be able to afford it. "Mom," Julie whispered. "We can't afford this."

Her mother gave her a determined look, and responded, "We will. I don't care how hard I have to work, or how many jobs I have to get. I _will_ send you to that school, even if it's the last thing I do." Julie hugged her mother, and thought about how lucky she was to have a mother that was willing to go to all lengths to help her daughter do something with her life.

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A/N-Okay, so this is the beginning of my story. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up real soon. I know its kinda dramatic, but I put under humor, because as the story progresses, it loses its drama, and becomes more of an actual hp story. It's also under PG-13, and u mite think its not really supposed to b PG-13, but like i mentioned before, as the stroy progresses, it becomes more PG-13. I'd luv sum reviews, so tell me what u think. -Scrapps 


	2. Shopping with Hagrid

~~~Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I don't write like her, or think like her. None of these characters are my own, except for the ones I made up, so um yeah. -Scrapps.~~~ 

Julie and her mother had to give up many luxuries and sacrifice many things in order to get enough money to send Julie to Hogwarts. Julie's mom, Mrs. Foster, got 2 other part time jobs as a secretary and a McDonald's chef on top of being a waitress. She would get home very late and become very tired, but she would do it for her daughter. Julie started getting little jobs in the neighborhood, like walking dogs and mowing lawns. She also gave up the ice cream sudaes she had every day after school. But it was all for the belief that Julie could be a person who went from rags to riches.

Mrs. Foster had already written a response to the school, delivering it with the owl that had come with Julie's letter. A man by the name of Rubeus Hagrid was apparantly coming on the 25th of July to take Julie shopping, because, being muggle-born, she and her mother wern't even sure of how she was supposed to get her supplies.

At last, or as it seemed to Julie, the man named Rubeus Hagrid, magically appeared in Julie's small kitchen. Julie called her mother, and Mrs. Foster greeted the giant man warmly.

"Alrigh' then. I'll be takin' Julie wit me. We'll be back in 'few hours.

"Okay," Mrs. Foster said. "I'll see you soon then." Mrs. Foster smiled.

Hagrid led Julie to the living room, and stood by the firplace. Julie was completely confused. How were they going to buy supplis when all they were doing was standing by the fireplace?

"Um, Hagrid? I'm a little confused. Wht are we standing next to a--"

"Shhhh...." he said. "You'll see. We'll be at Diagon Alley faster than you can say Hogwarts."

Hagrid threw something in to the fireplace that looked like powder, and yelled, "DIAGON ALLEY!" He grabbed Julie by the arm, and pulled her into the fireplace with him. She screamed. She was going to burn to death!!! Someone help!! She was going to die!! But she didn't. In fact, it seemed to be that she was, well--_flying_. _How weird_, she thought. _Is this how all wizards get around?_

After 3 minutes, Hagrid and Julie came flying out of another fireplace covered in soot. Julie landed on a chair, and somehow, it didn't break, or she didn't fall off it. SHe suspected use of magic. Hagrid crashed into a table, and it broke into millions of pieces. "Reparo," Hagrid muttered, looking quite embarassed. "I know that wasn' quite a pleasant ride, Julie," he said. "But we got heres anyway, so lemme show 'ya round. We landed in whats' called The Leaky Cauldron, a famous pub, an' by far, mah favorite." Julie looked around. She finally undestood why it was called the Leaky Cauldron when a several drops of water landed on her head and her jeans. She quickly moved out of the spot. "So I'm gon' take you tah' by your wand first, an' then we'll buy all of yeh books," said Hagrid

Then walked into a small, out-of-the-way shop. "Ollivander's Wands--Since 312 B.C." was written in peeling gold letters. Julie felt the familiar feeling of fear wash over her body. An old, balding man stepped out, and said, "Ahhh...Julia Foster. I've been expecting you since Dumbledore first told me the lost one would arise once again...." Lost one? He must've been confused. But that didn't matter. He was old and probably was confusing her with another customer. But she didn't know that Mr. Ollivander didn't make mistakes--at least not when it came to his customers and their wands. Mr. Ollivander started measuring her for a few minutes, until he left to fetch some boxes, but the measuring tapes still kept on measuring. He opened the lids on the boxes, and stopped the measuring tapes with a flick of his wand. "Here," he said. "Oak, dragon heart string, 12 1/2 inches good for charm work. Give it a flick." She felt rather foolish waving around a wand that she didn't even hear what it was made of. In less than 3 seconds he snatched it from her and handed her a new wand. That didn't work either. Julie thought that she was going to have to stay here forver until they found a wand for her. But they did eventually find a wand for her. "Ok, this is the last wand compatible for you. Holly, crystalized phoenix tears, 15 inches. Give it a wave. If it doesn't work...well it will work, or at least I hope." The man's creepy silver eyes showed his fatigue. Julie waved it, and instantly felt a warmth at her fingertips. She felt it move down from her fingertips and into the wand. A purple light blasted out of the tip of the wand in full force. Mr. Ollivander carefully studied her wand. "Wow," he said softly. "That was quite powerful for someone who's never done magic. Well I guess it's just another one of the signs...." Julie paid for her wand and left the shop pondering all the things that Mr. Ollivander had said to her....

Julie and Hagrid bought the rest of the supplies needed to attend Hogwarts, and Julie went home feeling happy, but unsatisfied. It wasn't that she was ungrateful or anything, it was just--well, she wanted so badly to find out what Mr. Ollivander was talking about. But she knew the answer would come in time, just like everything else did. Just like everything else did.

A/N: Alright, so this is my second chapter of Julie's first year at Hogwarts. I'd _really_ love some reviews, so plz, plz, PLZ, just take the time to leave one little comment and tell me what u think. -Scrapps. 


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